Here’s an idea to curb the dropout problem: Make it illegal. Heretofore, the legal school-leaving age in many states was 16, two years younger, typically, than that of a graduating senior. But now states are amending their statutes to raise that bar to 18, meaning that nonattendance prior to that age would be truancy--and against the law.
I'll be away from Flypaper for the next two days at the annual meeting of the White House Fellows Association, but before departing I wanted to use this opportunity to encourage our talented readers to consider applying for this astonishingly valuable program.
Quotable: "They [states] were told to focus on one-time investments as much as possible. At the same time, the Department of Education sold this as a job and reform package...They say on one hand, preserve and create jobs. On the other hand, they talk about education reform."
Quotable: "We're getting a bit more particular...We are learning more about what it means to be prepared to open a school, and these schools just didn't live up to expectations." -Brian Allen, chairman of the Utah State Charter School Board
I just finished reading Diane Ravitch's 2000 book??Left Back: A Century of Failed School Reforms. I recommend it strongly.
Quotable: "Why would you sign a memorandum of understanding with a country that's so far behind us on average results and on dealing with low socio-economic students and minority students?" -Trevor Cobbold, spokesman for Save Our Schools, an Aussie public education advocacy group
Arne Duncan seems to be everywhere lately - even popping up last week on the Colbert Report.
The Ohio Department of Education recently spotlighted an innovative partnership between Dayton Public Schools and Sinclair Community College that has established a unique
Today, Secretary Duncan is giving a speech about the federal role in education (check out Jamie's post about the speech??
Though I wasn't crazy about Secretary Duncan's speech today about federalism, his recent comments to the AP about Race to the Top applications were quite encouraging. In this AEI report, I warned about "Trojan Horse" proposals.
If you ask me, the Fordham team has had a shockingly fecund and entertaining blogging week. Videos, interviews, pictures of wooden horses, charts, graphs, and more...not to mention some analysis of education stuff! I figured the best way to end this exciting week would be to point you to a law journal article! Smokin' hot!
Alex Johnston, CEO of ConnCAN an education reform organization in Connecticut, was recently appoin
Today's New York Times reports on a new RAND study evaluating the Big Apple's attempts to end "social promotion," the egregious practice of simply passing students on to the next gr
I'm in Denver for the annual PIE-Net conference and had the pleasure of moderating a panel on the Common Standards effort with Mike Cohen, David Coleman, and
Quotable: "K-12 education has come under pressure that it has not seen in decades. The only bright note is the money provided under the ARRA." -Arturo Perez, fiscal analyst for the National Conference of State Legislatures
More evidence that the education components of the ARRA have been about jobs, jobs, jobs.
ED official (rightly) lectures Maine on lack of charter law Russo on yesterday's??NAEP coverage
The Council on American Private Education (CAPE) has submitted superb public comments on the i3 fund.
Very big news out of New Haven, CT, though it's a story likely to be completely overlooked.
We're tweeting from the Partners in Education Network (PIE-NET) conference in Denver today. Follow our Twitter feed @educationgadfly or the conference hashtag #PIE09.
This NY Times article highlights some folks who took alternative routes to become teachers, leaving their primary careers or retirement to complete fast-track programs into the classroom. One of programs mentioned is the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence (ABCTE).
Quotable: "Everybody's using the [budget] numbers now to their own benefit, so they can blame somebody else for these teacher firings...My job is to make sure the city balances its budget. You can just blame Jack Evans." -D.C. Council member Jack ??Evans (D-Ward 2)
Sol Stern turns in an interesting post about the recent Time Magazine article on Catholic schools, providing some??very good examples from the Big Apple.
"I hope that this chapter has explained how a liberal Democratic legislator could conclude that choice, which in America is often associated with the political right, is essential to reform of education. In recent years, my party has suffered from a tendency to defend past ways of doing things."
There's not much good news in today's National Assessment of Educational Progress results for mathematics. As Checker told the New York Times:
A bill sponsored by State Senator Gary Cates (R- Butler County) would lessen the blow to otherwise high-performing districts that fail to make adequate academic progress with a few subgroups of students.
Excellent Ed Week articles on school boards and governors and education and use of ARRA funds
Checker, Terry, and Fordham board member David Driscoll offer up their opinions on school governance at the state and local levels over at Education Week
